Contents

The Blood Ties quest will be offered to you by Lucy West in Megaton. Lucy can often be found within Moriarty's Saloon, she can be recognized by her blond hair and leather jacket. She now resides in Megaton but is originally from Arefu where her parents and her brother still live. Her problem is that her family is not replying to her letters and wants you to travel to Arefu to find out why, she can't offer you any caps and you are given the option to reject the quest abruptly which will result in bad Karma.

Arefu is located northwest of Megaton, it's a small settlement built on the road of a broken highway bridge. Upon arrival you'll come under a grenade attack by the town's protector Evan King who mistakes you for an enemy, Note that the player may start the quest here even if he has not talked to Lucy West, after realizing his mistake he informs you about The Family which is a gang that are constantly terrorizing the town. He asks you to check on the other residents to make sure everyone is okay; there are only 3 other residents in Arefu and after checking on the first two houses you come to a small shack at the very end of town named the West family home. Upon entering the shack you find the dead bodies of Mr. and Mrs. West, The Family written on the wall in blood and no sign of the West's son. If you have a medicine skill of 30 or more, you can examine the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. West, revealing that they have bite wounds on the neck.

Return to Evan King and tell him the bad news, and he'll tell you the name of the missing son is Ian West. Evan believes he was taken by the family, when you tell Evan that the Wests had bite marks on their neck he suggests they may have had dogs with them. Once he's finished he'll add three markers to your map of possible places to find The Family, the places are: Hamilton's Hideaway, the Moonbeam Outdoor Cinema and the Northwest Seneca Station. You can save yourself some time by going straight to the Metro Station where The Family's main based is held. Upon entering the Metro Station you'll find a room with two ghouls, they ask you to collect Sugar Bombs so they can create a drug called Ultrajet; the ghoul will pay you 15 caps for each box of sugar bombs you bring him. Inside the ghouls hideout there's a room to the right filled with toxic waste, look down and you'll see a trap door on the floor which will take you down to a cave with a few Mirelurks. The caves will take you down to the subway tunnels leading to The Family's main base. Within the tunnels you'll find a few creatures and Raiders but the main thing to watch out for are the Mines and Bear Traps that flood the tunnels.

Towards the end of the tunnel you'll meet a member of The Family called Robert, despite the reputation The Family have gained around Arefu, they're actually non-violent and will only attack if you take the first shot. Talk to Robert and he'll refuse to let you in to The Family's main base, there are three ways to gain access, the Speech skill option which can grant you free access if it's successful, you can pay him 100 caps or you can get in for free by having the Cannibal perk. Once inside the main base talk to members of The Family to learn more about their cult, their leader Vance and the whereabouts of Ian West. The cult is full of members who have a hunger for human flesh and their leader Vance is trying to convert them into drinking blood instead, in other words the cult is full of Vampires. There are five members of The Family that can give you the computer terminal password which can access to the room where Ian is kept, each of them requires a speech skill success to gain the password or you can get it by finding Vance. Once you find Ian, you'll find out the shocking truth, it was not The Family who killed Ian's parents, it was Ian himself who also has the hunger for human flesh (which explains the bite marks on his parent's necks), he also tells you that The Family found him after the incident and wrote "The Family" in blood on the walls to hide Ian's secret from the rest of Arefu. After Ian explains everything you're given the option to leave him there or tell him about the letters from his sister Lucy however if you started this quest from Evan King then you will not have this option, which will convince him to return to Arefu. If you convinced Ian to leave The Family, go back and talk to Vance you can offer him blood packs in exchange for his protection in Arefu. Once you return to Arefu and tell Evan King about Ian's return the Quest will officially end, however if you return to The Family's headquarters and speak to Vance again he'll give you the Shishkebab schematics which is a flaming sword that you can build using a Motorcycle Gas Tank, a Motorcycle Handbrake, a Pilot Light and a Lawnmower Blade.

Alternatively, if you opt to shoot first and ask questions later, The Family will become hostile towards you. All in all there are around 6 members holding strong in the underground, the guard on the front gate (he holds the password for the gate), 3 downstairs, Vance on the upper level (he holds Ian West's holding cell password) and another member on the upper level, hidden. Focused fire and stealth will allow you to pick them off one by one. The main points of interest are, of course the 2 passwords; be sure to pick those up; and the sword cabinet key held on Vance, which will unlock the cabinet in his quarters and give you the Vampire's Edge. Other than that, minor points of interest are Vance's Shishkebab weapon, without the need for pesky schematics; a few Stimpaks scattered around the top level, ammunition and weapons (mainly assault rifles) on the Family members, and odd bits and pieces for the apt scavenger. Ian is further down the hall, past Vance's quarters. Activate the door and go inside, he'll ask what all the commotion was. You have a few options, all basically telling him to come with you; the way you say it will affect his decision. He then reveals that he is the one who killed his parents, and that he has the "hunger", and Vance was helping him to control it. From this point, you can either joke about Vance's death, which will make Ian (and by proxy the citizens of Arefu) hostile towards you. Or you can break the news to him more subtly, in which case he'll have a crisis of confidence. By showing him his sister's letter, he'll realize how much she cares for him and decide to return to Arefu. Talk to Evan King for a hearty thanks and supplies, and the residents of Arefu will now aid you in any way they can. And maybe keep an eye on Ian West.